


my brother, my hero

by PenelopeJadewing



Series: We'll Set the World to Rights [1]
Category: Naruto, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Adorable Midoriya Izuku, Alternate Universe, Angry Bakugou Katsuki, Crossover, Family Fluff, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Uchiha Itachi Being a Good Brother, Uchiha Sasuke-centric, best brothers, itachi is sasuke's hero, just let deku live pls, just nardo characters in bnha, kacchan's being mean again, playground madness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-15 21:26:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16071668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PenelopeJadewing/pseuds/PenelopeJadewing
Summary: Sasuke just wants to grow up to be a Hero like his brother. He's got a long way to go.a.k.a. the beginnings of a Naruto Fix-It AU set in the My Hero universe. because my uchiha boys deserve another chance at life.





	my brother, my hero

**Author's Note:**

> writing from a 7yo's perspective is hard. QuQ thankfully, i won't have to do this but a handful of times before i jump to high school... something to look forward to.
> 
> that is all.
> 
> -P.J.

Uchiha Sasuke doesn’t like his new house.

It’s too small. Too… different. He liked the wood floors and big rooms and paper walls at his old house. He liked the way his footsteps made clomp-y sounds as he came running for dinner. He liked playing hide-and-seek through a maze of sliding doors. He liked having a big backyard, with a pond where he and his big brother named all the big goldfish after Sasuke’s favorite Heroes. That old house had everything. This new one has… nothing.

It’s modern and clean and new and looks like something out of a television commercial and the floors are all quiet and all the doors have hinges. There’s only a tiny yard in the back and it’s closed off from everything else by a fence three times his height. The neighbors’ walls are close, way too close, and when he looks out his window, he has a perfect view of the perfect street that now boasts the address of Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto.

It’s all so… clean. He misses the regal wildness that had surrounded his house before. The old wood, fogged glass and the thick forests.

Though, Itachi says he can find that wildness wherever he wants, if he’s patient and looks hard enough.

Hard enough? What does that mean? He _is_ looking hard, and this whole neighborhood is tamer than Cat-san. How hard does he have to look before he sees it?

He’ll have to ask when he gets back…

As if just thinking about him makes Itachi appear, appear he does, walking up the manicured street behind Mother and Father, all dressed in their nice clothes. Mama and Papa are laughing about something with smiles that don’t quite wrinkle their eyes. Itachi just watches his shoes as he walks.

Sasuke used to think Itachi would be easy to prank while he was like that. He tried to trip him once. He learned very quickly that while he might have a Reflex Quirk, Itachi’s older, faster, smarter and so unfairly talented, it would make Sasuke sick if he wasn’t so amazed. His brother really is the coolest...

As they approach the house, Sasuke glimpses some small something in Itachi’s arms—a package of some kind, tucked against his chest like a kitten. What if it is a kitten… no, it’s in a bag. That’d be bad if he had a kitten in that bag. No, it’s probably something not alive. Could it be something for school? That’s where they’re coming back from, after all, a meeting with the middle school teachers. Papa says Itachi’s too good for that school. But when Sasuke asks him, Itachi just smiles and looks away, every time. Sasuke’s not sure what that means.

He is sure that he’s happy Itachi’s back though. He never likes being alone in the house—not that he can’t take care of himself. It’s more that he really doesn’t like the quiet. It’s kinda creepy in a house that doesn’t creak. Stupid house…

Yes, he decides. They’ve been here for two months—so long!—and he already knows that he hates it. But whenever Itachi’s home, Sasuke can almost forget about how much he hates it.

The more he thinks about it though, maybe he shouldn’t be happy Itachi’s back… Lately, he seems so busy all the time. Sasuke wants to go out, have adventures, train their Quirks, and Itachi always says ‘some other time’ and Sasuke hates that too. He’s left to try and find fun things to do all by himself; he can’t go anywhere without an adult, and after Itachi rejects him, he never feels like reading or coloring or playing with Cat-san. So he usually just mopes around in his room. Sometimes, he takes things apart and puts them back together, like his clock or his toys, just so he’s not bored. Sometimes, to his horror, he even feels like taking a _nap_.

No, today is not going to be like that. Sasuke’s going to make sure of that.

Sasuke races out of his room, determined to meet his brother at the door before Itachi can retreat to his room and shut the door like he does sometimes. Making his footsteps as loud as he can on the too-soft wood floor, the cushy carpet on the stairs, he manages to reach the landing just as the door opens in to let the rest of his family inside.

“—proud of you, Itachi,” Papa’s saying with a big smile—or at least, big for him—on his usually stony face. Mama nods her agreement.

Itachi smiles that little smile he does when he’s not sure what to say, and bows a little, all formal. “Thank you very much, Father…”

Mama puts a hand to her cheek as she tilts her head, looking like she might both laugh and cry. “Our boy, oh… You’re going to do great things. I think I’ll make a big dinner to celebrate!”

Celebrate? Sasuke leans over the railing, peering down at them all with wide eyes. Celebrate what? Like, a birthday? Will there be cake?

“Thank you, Mother…” Itachi murmurs, but their parents are already moving off toward the kitchen. Sasuke doesn’t even get to ask if Mama’s gonna make cake or not.

So instead, he flaps his arm at his brother. “Hey nii-san, what’re we celebrating?”

Sasuke almost hoped to surprise him, but he really should’ve known better. He can never surprise Itachi. Itachi’s eyes are the sharpest eyes Sasuke’s ever heard of. He can see _everything_. So instead of jumping or jerking his attention to Sasuke at being addressed so suddenly, Itachi just takes his time removing his shoes. He sets his package—books, it looks like—on the shelf above the coat rack.

“Nii-san?” Sasuke prompts with the barest hint of a pout at being ignored. He tries to cover it up though. He’s seven now, after all, he’s way too old for pouting. Babies pout, and he’s not a baby anymore.

Itachi throws him a sidelong glance and a little smile—this one different from the one he gave their parents. This one’s a little wider, and lots warmer. It makes Sasuke smile back.

“The teachers at school think I should go to high school,” Itachi says, leaving the foyer. He stops at the bottom of the stairs, rests his hand on the rail and smiles up at Sasuke in his gentle way. “I suppose the classes were kind of easy, but… it almost feels like cheating.”

Sasuke squares up his little shoulders at that, getting indignant on Itachi’s behalf. Itachi never asks for anything, not ever. He feels selfish if he does, he says, but Sasuke knows that Itachi deserves only good things. The best. “It’s not cheating, nii-san! You’re way better than all those idiots; you’re super strong and smart, and you could make them run in circles without doing _anything_! You’re awesome and awesome people get to do awesome things, like skip dumb old middle school.”

Just like Sasuke’s going to do someday.

Itachi actually laughs, and Sasuke beams. He always feels like he’s won a prize when he makes Itachi laugh. It’s never a loud laugh, no uncontrollable nothing, no. Uchiha Itachi is the definition of control. But it’s a light laugh, like butterfly wings, or warm sunshine through the window in the afternoon, the kind Cat-san loves to nap in. Drawn by the sound, Sasuke bounds down the rest of the stairs and glomps Itachi around the waist, latching on and pressing his face into his brother’s shirt.

“Can we play now?” he asks, tilting his head up just enough to see Itachi’s eyes where they gleam at him from under silky black bangs.

“Hmm…” Itachi glances down the hall, toward the kitchen.

Sasuke squeezes him tighter. “Please don’t say ‘later!’ You say it all the time…”

Itachi laughs again and pats his head. “I was just thinking that there’s that nice little playground a couple blocks away. We pass it by sometimes; we could go and play there until dinner’s ready.”

For just a second, Sasuke stares at him. Did he really… say that? He thinks about it, thinks about Itachi’s words and realizes that, yes, he did really say it. He said they could play—and not just play anywhere, he means _at the playground_! His little heart leaps and so does his body.

“You mean it!?” he blurts, almost bolting up the stairs for his hoodie right then and there.

“Of course. Go get your jacket,” Itachi says, his smile turning crooked, knowing.

And of course he knows. Itachi knows everything.

Five minutes later, after alerting their parents to their destination, the boys head out. The sun hangs low, inching towards evening, and Sasuke likes how the light makes everything gold. He skips along beside Itachi, his open All Might hoodie flapping at his hips. Despite the early autumn heat, he has the hood up and he takes great pleasure in the weight of the plush golden ears flopping atop his head with every step.

“I bet when you’re a Hero, you’ll be as awesome as All Might!” Sasuke declares to his brother with complete confidence. He’s certain this is true.

Itachi doesn’t look so sure, ducking his head a little. “That’s flattering, Sasuke… All Might is pretty amazing. But I think I would be happy if I could just be as great as Father.”

Uchiha Fugaku, the Undead Hero: Susano’o, is the Number Three Hero now. Sasuke loves reminding other kids at school of this fact. After all, if their dad is that strong, that must mean that both Itachi and Sasuke are going to be just as powerful when they grow up. Just the thought makes Sasuke puff up his chest.

“Yeah, that would be pretty great,” he admits. Papa’s always so proud of Itachi… Sasuke can only pray he’ll be able to achieve the same. He wants to show Itachi how amazing he can be…

They reach the playground in short time, mostly due to Sasuke’s eager pace, and Sasuke’s eyes immediately scan the equipment to see what the best setting for a mock battle might be. Two seconds in, though, he realizes they’re not alone here.

A group of kids occupies the space underneath the monkey bars. One is twig-thick, all knobby limbs and limp hair and a toothy smile. Another is hefty, with squinted eyes and a pair of red wings on his back. The third in the obvious trio stands ahead of the other two, with hair spiked in all directions like he stuck his finger in an electrical socket. The three of them stare down the fourth in their midst, a small soul with a mop of dark hair and hands twisted in the hem of his shirt. All of them are boys around Sasuke’s age. Actually, they almost seem familiar, like maybe Sasuke’s seen them at his new school before.

He can hear the Spiky Kid talking from all the way over here, he’s so loud.

“We’re the Heroes,” he’s saying, folding his arms over his chest, “and you’re the Villain, Deku.”

The Mop-head seems to shrink into himself. “B-But… I don’t wanna be the Villain again, Kacchan, I’m always the Villain…”

“Yeah,” this Kacchan replies. “That’s ‘cause Villains always lose, so you _hafta_ be the Villain.”

Sasuke sighs. Why are kids so dumb? He doesn’t want to share space with these idiots. So he tugs on Itachi’s shirt and pulls him toward the merry-go-round. “Over here, nii-san!”

Itachi follows and, once Sasuke’s situated on the carousel, sets it spinning. It’s definitely not what Sasuke had in mind… but it’s not horrible either. He enjoys trying to meet Itachi’s eyes every time he passes by, which gets increasingly more difficult the faster he spins. He tries using his Quirk and feels the world creep in on him, making him feel small. He can hear every squeak of the carousel’s rusted hub, the crackle of gravel where the kids are playing nearby, the slap of Itachi’s fingers on the metal bars as he keeps the merry-go-round going around. Sasuke can see the whites of his brother’s eyes as he passes now.

When he uses his Quirk, it’s like the world slows down. It’s kinda cool.

It only lasts for a few short minutes though. Suddenly, a small explosion rocks the air across the playground. Itachi sucks in a breath and drags the carousel to a halt, feet skidding on the gravel. As soon as the thing is properly slowed, he lets go and whirls around. Sasuke peers around him as his ride slows to a halt. The explosion had come from the direction of the other kids.

Another explosion tears loose and this time, Sasuke sees why. Spiky Kid—Kacchan—punches Mop-head—Deku?—right in the nose with a flash of light and burst of smoke. An explosion to the face. Sasuke’s eyebrows jump. What is that kid trying to do, kill him? Immediately after that heavy hit, the other two fall in and pounce on Mop-head, shoving him to the ground and slapping and kicking him.

Then again, they are playing Heroes and Villains… They must take it very seriously.

Suddenly, Sasuke is alone. He blinks and watches Itachi stride hastily in the direction of the fight. But why? It’s not their problem; Mop-head _was_ playing with them in the first place. Still, there’s a sinking feeling in his chest that he doesn’t like; it makes him feel bad for just sitting there. So he hops off the merry-go-round and sprints after his brother.

As Itachi approaches, Stick Boy and Fat Wings both freeze. Stick Boy points, hand wobbling a bit. “Uh oh. Kacchan, it’s a big kid!”

“Quick, scram!” Fat Wings chimes in, and both of them scatter.

 _Losers_ , Sasuke snickers to himself.

“HEY, WHERE ARE YOU GOING YOU COWARDS!?” Kacchan barks after them, shaking a sparking fist. “GET BACK HERE, WE AIN’T AFRAID OF NO BIG KIDS!”

By then, Itachi’s standing over the two left—Kacchan and Deku, who’s sniveling on the ground, holding a wrist over a bloodied nose and big fat tears rolling down his freckled face. How he doesn’t have severe burns all over, Sasuke has absolutely no idea.

Despite his bravado, Kacchan looks appropriately wary of Itachi’s presence. Sasuke slows a ways away from them. He’s close enough to hear what’s going on, but far enough that if this stupid kid tries any funny business, he’ll be far enough from whatever short-lived scrap that ensues. It’s mostly that he doesn’t feel like being exploded today. He’s not worried for Itachi, not at all.

Itachi’s never lost a fight.

“What’s going on here?” Itachi asks, calmly enough. But Sasuke knows his brother. This calm is the icy kind, the kind that would make any normal person shiver.

Kacchan is obviously not a normal person. He straightens up and looks Itachi right in the eye and declares, “We’re just playing, so mind your own d*** business!”

Sasuke scowls. What a barbarian… He read that word in a book once. It seems right for this situation.

Itachi glances at Deku, who averts his eyes. “This doesn’t seem like playing…”

“Yeah well, it is, so—”

But Itachi’s already turning his back on Kacchan and instead addressing Deku. He kneels beside him, and speaks softly. “Are you all right?”

Sasuke smiles. And then frowns when he remembers that he wanted to ignore them… and instead, Itachi is reminding him of why he’s gonna be going to Hero school.

Deku snivels some more, tears mixing with blood that smears his lip and his hand, but still he nods. “Y-Yeah,” he hiccups. “I-I’m okay… We’re just… p-playing.”

“I see. You’re bleeding.” Itachi nods in gesture to the very obvious nose problem. “I can walk you home if you want.”

“Hey stupid,” Kacchan snarls, smirking like he’s already won something, “he said he’s fine. He’s the Villain, he’s supposed to bleed!”

Itachi hums, but that’s all. He doesn’t even glance Kacchan’s way and that seems to make the spiky boy increasingly angry.

“You want to be a Hero, don’t you?” Itachi says to Deku. At first, Sasuke thinks he’s referring to what they overheard earlier. But then, there’s a weight to his brother’s words and he recognizes it’s one of those times where Itachi is saying two things at the same time. He does that a lot. To Sasuke, it’s like a puzzle he has to solve. He’s not sure these kids can get it, though…

Yet, Deku stills at the question. A fresh wave of tears spills from his big eyes. After a long hesitation, he nods once in answer.

And Itachi smiles. Which makes Sasuke smile too.

Itachi speaks while he helps Deku tilt his head forward and pinches his nose to stop the blood. He seems like he’s talking to Deku, but Sasuke’s pretty sure he’s actually addressing Kacchan. “Anyone can be a Hero, if given the chance. All you have to do is take the chance and be one.”

Kacchan, who just seems to be a generally loud person overall, throws his head back and laughs a haughty laugh. “Deku?? Defenseless Izuku, a _Hero_? HA! He’s Quirkless, dummies; he _can’t_ be a Hero.”

Surprisingly, this seems to quiet Deku’s tears in favor of making him look… almost determined. His eyebrows dip, his face hardens. Sasuke’s impressed. Maybe he’s not entirely a blubbering wimp.

“A person can’t help how they’re born,” Itachi says, helping Deku to his feet. At this point, Sasuke’s fairly sure Itachi’s replying for the Quirkless kid’s benefit. Since Itachi would probably remain silent in the face of a ranting bully otherwise. Sasuke had seen it happen before. “What’s more important is how they live their lives. How they contribute to the world.”

Sasuke loves when Itachi talks like this. He’s like a wise wizard from a movie. But they’re heavy words for an idiot, and Sasuke can smell sawdust burning. Except, unlike that loud moron Naruto in his class at school, Kacchan doesn’t make it obvious that he doesn’t entirely grasp the idea. His eyes dart for a few seconds and then he just sneers with a derisive ‘tch.’

“He’s a weakling! Weaklings can’t do _anything_!” he insists. Itachi continues to ignore him and when he’s sure Deku’s steady, he begins to walk away, toward the park exit. Sasuke, glancing once at the startled Kacchan, follows close on his heels. Behind them, Kacchan sputters.

“Hey!” he yells. “HEY! Don’t just walk away from me!”

Crunching footsteps in gravel, closing distance. Sasuke isn’t fast enough, doesn’t activate his Quirk in time to avoid the hot, smoking hand that grabs at the back of his collar. But then Itachi’s there too, so close, his bigger hand clamping down on Kacchan’s, locking him to Sasuke, his intended target, and then Itachi’s eyes are glowing red and staring intently over Sasuke’s shoulder. Sasuke looks away, squeezing his eyes shut.

When he opens them again, Itachi’s lifting a now-limp hand off his neck. Sasuke follows it with his gaze, to the wrist, up the arm, and finally to Kacchan’s round face, which has gone slack. His eyes are wide, very wide, and hollow, and his irises reflect the red that Itachi’s had pulsed just seconds before, the lingering effects of Waking Dream—Itachi’s Quirk. Sasuke breathes a sigh of relief.

He really needed to get stronger. He didn’t want Itachi to have to protect him all the time.

He wonders what Itachi made Kacchan dream of.

Deku, pinching his own nose now, gasps. “K-Kacchan… W-What did you do to him?”

“He’ll be all right,” says Itachi, ushering Sasuke away from the dazed explosive boy. “He’s just dreaming.”

“Did you… use your Quirk?” Deku asks.

Itachi nods once but says nothing more. With Sasuke now caught up to the other kid his age, Itachi herds them both off the playground and to the street, where he prompts Deku to show them the way home. After a bit of thinking, Deku points the way and Itachi has him lead. Admittedly, the kid doesn’t look too thrilled with the idea, like he’s not sure what to do with people following him (Sasuke gets the impression he’s used to doing the following himself), but he stomachs it and marches ahead.

Sasuke walks close beside his brother, running over everything that had just happened. Itachi’s words to Deku. Deku’s defense of Kacchan. Kacchan targetting Sasuke. Sasuke… ignoring them. He frowns. He’d wanted to sit back and watch. Even while Deku was getting beat up? Yes. If Itachi hadn’t been there, Sasuke knows he wouldn’t have moved. And the more he thought about that, the worse he felt.

It was because he didn’t know them. Because he thought they were being dumb kids and he doesn’t like dealing with dumb kids. They’re loud and pushy and nosy and do stupid things in the name of ‘playing,’ and these kids are no different, right? Obviously, Itachi saw something different… and did something about it.

Like a Hero would.

Sasuke pinches his lips, resisting the urge to pout. He sure has a lot to learn…

He doesn’t want to be just another dumb kid. He doesn’t want to let Itachi down.

When they reach Deku’s house, they realize it’s not a house. It’s an apartment complex. And Deku apparently lives on the top floor in Building 2.

That means stairs.

Sasuke starts off pretending he’s climbing a mountain, but very quickly grows tired of that. After a painfully long climb, they finally reach the top level. And there, Deku says they can stop, that he can go the rest of the way by himself. Sasuke stops. Itachi doesn’t.

“H-Hey… mister…?” Deku starts to object, but then hesitates, swallowing his words. By now, the bloody nose is almost stopped, the only evidence the mess it left on his face. And instead of whatever objection he was going to say, Deku finishes with, “I forgot to ask what your name is.”

Ah. Sasuke had completely forgotten too. For a second, he considers catching up again, but. That would be embarrassing now that he’s stopped. They’re headed to the end of the balcony anyway; Itachi will come back this way when they leave. So Sasuke just slips his hands into the pockets of his shorts and waits.

“My name is Itachi,” his brother answers, though he leaves off their surname and Sasuke isn’t sure why. “Is your name Deku or is that just what that boy calls you?”

Why would he ask that? Sasuke frowns again. He never would’ve thought it was anything less than his real name… But then, Itachi always knows the right questions to ask. He’s always right.

“It’s…” Deku ducks his head. “My name is Izuku… Midoriya. Midoriya Izuku. Kacchan just… yeah.”

Then they stop at a door. Sasuke watches from a distance as Deku—Midoriya, he supposes—opens the door and disappears inside. Itachi hovers just outside. Sasuke’s not surprised, but he also wants to know what Itachi’s waiting for. He can hear voices coming from inside the open apartment, but he can’t tell what they’re saying anymore. He feels really far away, far away from Itachi, and he really doesn’t like it. He was stupid for stopping.

He glances over the railing carefully—it’s a long way down. Everything looks so small from up here. It’s a much better view than his bedroom window. If he had a view like this, maybe he wouldn’t mind living here so much.

Amidst the long shadows, he spots something moving. Something smallish, with spiky blond hair. Ah, Itachi’s Quirk must’ve worn off. Kacchan sprints halfway down the street alongside the apartment buildings, and Sasuke can tell from here that he has his eyes riveted on the end of the balcony. He knew they would come here; Itachi had said he would walk Midoriya home.

As quickly as he appeared, Kacchan disappears again, the balcony obstructing Sasuke’s view to the street below. What’s he doing, Sasuke wonders? Planning to ambush them? Why isn’t he screaming at them already? He doesn’t seem the type to stay quiet if he’s mad.

Does that mean maybe he’s not mad? No, that’s not possible. He got mad at them walking away from him; why _wouldn’t_ he be mad at Itachi for completely outclassing him?

Then Itachi’s walking back. The door to Midoriya’s house closes behind him. Sasuke missed the last interaction. Darn it.

When Itachi gets close enough, Sasuke notices he looks extremely thoughtful. He’s frowning a little, his eyes staring down at the ground in front of his feet. He looks almost… sad.

“Nii-san?” Sasuke speaks up, tilting his head. He doesn’t like seeing Itachi like this. “Is something wrong?”

Itachi raises his head a little, and his eyes search Sasuke’s face. What is he looking for? Sasuke can’t even start to guess. Itachi shakes his head. “No… Come on. Let’s go.”

It’s not nothing and both of them know it, but Itachi won’t tell him. Again. Sasuke doesn’t even bother to hide his pouting this time. He’s pretty sure it’s justified.

They’re halfway back down the stairs again when Itachi speaks again, quietly. Carefully.

“He told his mother it was an accident.”

He…? Oh, he must mean Midoriya. Did he really? Sasuke frowns some more, and suddenly understands why Itachi was frowning before. “But… it wasn’t.”

“No.”

“Then why would he lie?” It couldn’t possibly be to protect the boy that beat him up, could it? If that’s the reason, then maybe Midoriya is just as dumb as the rest.

Itachi hesitates at the next landing. He looks up, at the ceiling above them. Sasuke looks too, but can’t tell what he’s looking at.

“…He doesn’t want his mother to worry,” says Itachi, almost reverently.

And that makes Sasuke close his mouth on whatever he was going to say next, because he’s done that before. Kept things from his mother. He and Itachi both have. Now he feels bad for thinking Midoriya’s just an idiot. That’s not it at all, if it’s… because of that.

“Speaking of.” Itachi takes his phone out of his pocket, checking the screen briefly before he nods. “Mother has dinner ready. We should head back home.”

He pokes Sasuke’s forehead and though Sasuke fakes like he hates it, it actually lifts the air around them so it’s easier to breathe. Everything’s okay now. Itachi doesn’t look sad anymore. He even smiles a little before his back is toward Sasuke and he’s descending the next flight of stairs and Sasuke has to hurry to keep up.

What a strange day… He has a lot to think about. He always feels like that about Itachi, but he never thought he’d find a Quirkless person interesting. But then, does that mean he underestimated Midoriya before…?

By all rights, after the display he put on, Sasuke should be impressed by Kacchan and his Quirk. On a superficial level, it’s pretty amazing. But something about him makes Sasuke want to curl his lip and call him a baby, so what does that mean? When he compares the two in his head, Midoriya is physically weaker but Kacchan is just… pathetic, with his blustering and that tantrum he almost threw before Itachi stopped him. A baby. So does that make Midoriya stronger?

Maybe.

It’s weird. Sasuke can’t even really put his finger on why he thinks that. He just does.

Maybe Midoriya is strong like Itachi’s strong. Not with loud words and a flashy Quirk and walking tall like a big dog who knows he’s big and tough and mean, but… more like the way the ocean is strong. They visited the ocean last year. It’s just water, but the sound of the waves gave Sasuke shivers and he can still remember the power he felt every time salty mist puffed in his face. The ocean doesn’t have to do anything but be there to be strong. It’s strong and also beautiful and people come from all over just to see it for a few days.

Kinda like Heroes.

As they reach ground level again, Sasuke looks up at Itachi beside him, peers at his face behind his bangs. Itachi isn’t looking down anymore; he’s looking forward. His eyes are like the ocean. Deep, dark. Powerful.

Sasuke smiles. He takes his big brother’s hand and holds it because he wants to be right here and he can’t begin to describe how happy it makes him when Itachi’s fingers close tightly around his small ones. He wants to be close to his brother, to feel his strength and hope that one day, he can be just like that. Just as smart, just as good, just as strong.

Just as much of a Hero.

* * *

 


End file.
